


Daughter of the Pale Crescent

by Starshadow_Moon



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-06-05
Updated: 2009-06-18
Packaged: 2017-10-23 20:51:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/254852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starshadow_Moon/pseuds/Starshadow_Moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is a long, hot summer in Forks, Washington. Edward is struggling with the aftermath of James' attack. Bella has survived, but it's brought to light all of Edward's worst fears. The Cullens are for a time split between bringing Bella deeper into their world and trying to keep her out of it.</p><p>But Fate has more surprises in store for Bella and the Cullens. As the summer grows, Bella slowly realizes that something is happening to her. Too afraid now to trust the Cullens to stay by her side, she struggles with the events on her own.</p><p>However, something this big, this monumental, cannot be hidden for long. Join Bella and the Cullens as they discover that which even they could never have predicted: That Bella is a Daughter of the Pale Crescent. Live their story as Bella lives her Final Year as human. And even so... she is not entirely human in this final year. She was never human, and she has been marked for death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dreaming the Impossible

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor do I own any of the characters from the book series or the movies. All these belong to Stephenie Meyer. I am writing for sole pleasure and receive no profit from this story. Don't sue me, all you're going to get is some Milk Duds, a pile of furballs and hairballs, and perhaps a few bottles of lemon-lime Gatorade!
> 
> Chapter Summary: This is the prologue to the story. Bella has a strange dream… the one that started everything.

Prologue  
Dreaming the Impossible

Bella Swan was in a forest. She spun around slowly, taking in the hundreds of brown and black tree trunks packed close around her. In an instant, she knew she was one of the deepest, darkest, and most forbidding parts of the vast woods around Forks, Washington. She glanced up through the shadowy, tangled branches to judge the sun's position. She whirled to the north and raced the sun, trying to reach the meadow before it dived beneath the horizon. The wind whipped her long mahogany brown hair behind her as she ran. Her long strides flew over the ground, making an impossible journey at an impossible speed. She never faltered, never stumbled; the destination was too important, and she must be there by twilight. She must, and nothing could stand in her way. Nothing.

Just as the red sun fell below the horizon and darkness overtook the land, she broke through the woods and came to an abrupt halt. The meadow was shrouded in dusk's light and the grasses rippled in the now-gentle wind. Bella was confused; she had been expecting something–or somebody–to be here. Something compelled her to look up at the sky. As she peered into the rapidly retreating dusk, the wind gave her one final assist and blew the thick clouds away. She was nearly blinded by the sudden appearance of the bright crescent moon, already high in the sky.

She followed the crescent moon's light back down to the meadow, and was startled to see several people standing at the far edge of the meadow. They were nearly ethereal, pale skin almost glowing in the moonlight and golden eyes that surveyed her with sharp intelligence. For a moment, just a moment, she felt as if she was prey instead of friend. She was gripped by the instinct to run away to the safety of the human town in the south. Then their eyes lit up with recognition and warm love, and Bella knew at once who they were. The enigmatic and ever so secretive Cullen vampires: Edward, Alice, Jasper, Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie. She let the fear dissipate, knowing that they meant her no harm.

Alice's soft laughter, so similar to bells, floated on the wind as she pranced toward Bella with a pale hand outstretched in delighted invitation. Her brother Edward also stepped forward, opening his cold and strong arms for an expected hug. Bella dashed further into the meadow, her right arm already rising to accept Alice's hand in friendship. Light bouncing off something caught her attention and she glanced at her arm, wondering why it would be the source of the odd light. She screeched to a halt in astonishment. Her arm was almost as pale as the Cullens'.

She sprang up in bed, blankets flying to the floor as she shook in shock. Her chocolate eyes cast around the room, trying to ascertain exactly where she was. She struggled to calm her panting as she realized that she was at her home in Forks. The full moon shone through the window, shedding light on the space that contained her belongings. It also shone on a tall, extremely attractive man with bronze hair, who was lying next to her. His gaze was on her with concern in his bright golden eyes.

"Bella, are you all right?" The gentle whisper came on an ice-cold breath as he stroked her cheek.

She gasped and then sighed in relief, "Edward, you're here. It's okay… I'm okay now." She snuggled into his granite chest and whispered, "It was just a weird dream. I mean… it wasn't a bad kind of weird. Just a good kind of weird. I think." She looked up at him, hoping that her reassurances were enough for him.

Edward Cullen laughed and brought his arm around her shoulder so that he could draw her closer to him. He gathered the blankets and rearranged them so that she was once more warm and comfortable, despite cuddling up against a very cold vampire.

"Do you want to tell me about your 'weird' dream?" He watched as Bella sighed and started making circles on his chest with her hand. Truth be told, he was really hoping that she would not stop doing that any time soon; it was far too sweet and comforting.

She sighed again and muttered, "What? You didn't hear enough from me talking in my sleep?" She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, grinning shyly. She dropped her eyes back down, resting them on his neck and tried to just enjoy the sensation of his chest beneath her roaming hands.

He chuckled as he shifted his position slightly to run his hand along her arm. "Not this time, Bella. You were panting and making small noises, but there were no words." He shifted his gaze from her arm to her eyes and smiled softly.

She smirked, moved her hand around his side to his back, and hugged him. "I didn't talk in my dream, so…" trailing off, she snuggled her head into the nook between his chin and chest and continued, "I'd tell you, but I can't really explain it right now."

He nodded in understanding and moved his hand to rearrange the blankets, as she had loosened them when she shifted to hug him. He heard her chuckle in response to his efforts to keep her warm and grinned, "Well, I just don't want you to get too cold, Bella."

"That's fine, Edward, just so long as I get to stay next to you," was the sleepy answer, as she began to feel drowsy again. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and groaned, "It's only 4:00 am?"

"I'm afraid so. Why don't you go back to sleep, love?" He tried to shift her so that her head was on the pillow, but was stopped by her soft murmur.

"Okay, but I want to sleep right here, on your chest, Edward. Please?" She nuzzled him gently and inhaled deeply. As his sweet scent flooded her nose, a soft breath escaped and she smiled softly.

He hesitated, and then sighed in resignation. He'd never understand why she could enter slumber so easily while her head was resting on an ice-cold, granite-hard chest. This was one of the few things he could offer her, however, so he allowed it. "All right." He resettled Bella so that she was more comfortable, and began humming her lullaby.

She dozed off quickly into a dreamless sleep. After the real-life horrors that she had faced so recently, Edward was exceedingly happy that she hadn't suffered any nightmares tonight. In the past several weeks, he had often seen her twist and sob in the grips of powerful nightmares. It caused him such pain and guilt to know that his world, the world of the vampires, brought such horrors to her innocent mind.

Of course, he didn't realize that Fate had more adventures in store for Bella, or that he would be the cause of some of her worst nightmares, however inadvertently. He had absolutely no idea that he would be tested severely in the near future, as Bella's hidden spirit came to light. She would need him soon. In fact, she would need all the Cullens.


	2. First Sign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cullens are making plans. Bella starts working things out with the Cullens. They're starting to recover together—and in all this, the first sign appears. Will they catch it?

Carlisle sat at the long table in the Cullens' large dining room. He looked to his right and glanced at Alice's beautiful night-black hair before sending his gaze beyond the young woman to Bella. She was sitting between Alice and Edward, listening to everyone converse as she ate the large meal that Esme had prepared for her. He smiled at the scene; it was a very long time since his family had actually sat around a dining table for a reason other than playing games. Granted, Bella was the only one eating, but that didn't matter. He thought that now would be a good time to bring up his plan for tonight.

"A comet is to pass through the night skies this evening. I thought we should all go to the meadow and observe the sight." Carlisle hoped that his family would agree; it had been too long since the last Cullen bonding activity. He knew that his family had banded together during the hunt for the now-dead vampire tracker, James, but that was rather violent and not at all restful as a true bonding moment should be. He was also hoping to get Rosalie and Bella together in a peaceful situation.

Thanks to Alice's visions, he knew that Bella would be a permanent part of his family, and he was truly happy that she would be so. However, Rosalie was being rather stubborn, and he knew that some of it was fear that Bella might expose them one day. The other half of Rosalie's problem was much more difficult to deal with; they would have to contend with that at a later time. His golden eyes were drawn quickly to his right, as Alice somehow managed to jump up and down in her seat in her excitement without moving the chair even one centimeter.

He laughed as Alice said, "Yes! It'll be so much fun!" He watched in amusement as she turned to the doorway to the living room almost immediately and added knowingly, "Jasper will come, of course." Her nod was certain as her eyes fell on the doorway expectantly. He turned in the same direction and saw Jasper appear in the doorway. Of course, being vampire, Jasper would have heard his suggestion from his seat in the living room. Jasper nodded in agreement; he was obviously eager to go. They all turned their attention to the kitchen as Esme gave her answer.

"That would be lovely to see, Carlisle. I agree. I think we all need this outing." She grinned as she turned to look at Carlisle and found her mate at the table. Her eyes met his for a moment, and she nodded slightly. She knew his wishes, of course, and agreed completely. At times, she wondered if she herself had some form of telepathy; she could read Carlisle so easily sometimes. Then again, it could simply be the ability of mates to know one another so well. Her eyes slid over exuberant Alice to Bella, who was quietly eating her dinner.

For a moment, Esme was concerned; Bella had just swallowed an apple slice from the fruit salad and looked slightly ill. The queasy expression had flitted over her face so quickly that Esme had nearly missed it. She watched carefully as Bella continued eating the large meal.

Bella had eaten part of the fruit salad and was listening to the Cullens converse when she began feeling somewhat nauseous. She was surprised; she was feeling fine, otherwise, and shouldn't have gotten ill from the food. For a moment, she let the nausea show itself in her expression, but quickly replaced it with a smile as she moved her gaze from the salad to the chicken breast in an herb sauce. It smelled absolutely amazing. Bella loved Esme's cooking, and she knew that Esme went to great lengths to cook delicious food for her. She didn't want to make Esme feel guilty about any part of the meal, so she fought to keep the nausea from making itself known once more. She refocused on the chicken and decided to try it, thinking that the fruit might have been off or tainted in some way.

She speared a piece of the chicken on her fork and ate it. Her eyes opened up a bit more and she almost moaned when the taste hit; it was perhaps the most delicious of Esme's efforts yet! She blinked in surprise and grinned in pleasure. As her eyes slid quickly over Carlisle, Alice, Edward, and Jasper, she was relieved to see that apparently none of them had caught either the queasy or ecstatic expressions. She still felt somewhat strange eating in front of the Cullens, and didn't really enjoy being the center of attention at mealtimes.

She shifted slightly and began cutting the chicken. She resumed listening to the conversation, using the action to hide the fact that she had stopped eating. She wanted to see what would happen once the chicken hit her stomach. Her eyes flicked from Carlisle to Edward as they were discussing how to get Rosalie to go to this comet-watching thing of theirs. She paused for a moment, blinking in confusion. Why would Rosalie avoid this kind of party? Rosalie usually enjoyed parties with her family … or so Alice said. Bella hadn't seen that actually happen yet.

When her knife scraped the plate, Bella was jolted out of her thoughts and realized that the chicken was now in tiny pieces, and that her stomach was just fine. She beamed and began eating the chicken enthusiastically; it was really, really good. She decided that the fruit must have been off, somehow, but she wouldn't tell Esme that. Once she finished the chicken, she dived into the loaded baked potato, relishing the extremely subtle flavor of onions with cheese and the crispiness of the bacon with the soft potato. It didn't take her long to finish, and when she did, she looked around for Esme.

Bella found the vampire that she was looking for standing next to Edward. The caramel-haired woman must have moved silently while Bella was eating. Bella saw that Esme looked both concerned and pleased, and she sighed internally. Esme must have caught her discomfort, despite the other guys missing it. She tried to reassure Esme as best as she could without spilling the beans, so to speak. She smiled innocently at Esme and praised, "Esme, that was great! The chicken was so good. What sauce was that?"

Esme's eyes, as golden as all the other Cullens', twinkled as she softly murmured, "I'm so glad you liked it, Bella. It was a lemon herb sauce with garlic, mint, parsley, salt, and pepper." She paused, remembering something, and then quickly added, "Well, without the lemon. I'm afraid the grocery store was out of lemons." She lifted one shoulder, as if to say "Oh, well," and moved gracefully to Bella's side. "I hope it was okay without the lemon?"

Bella grinned as Esme laid a diamond-white hand on her shoulder and leaned toward her slightly. "Esme, it was perfect. You know, I think it's actually better without the lemon, anyway." She tilted her head a little and looked down at her plate again as thoughts of the dinner and the Cullens' planned outing tonight ran through her head.

Esme tightened her hand on Bella's shoulder ever so carefully. "That's good, then." She moved her hand to stroke Bella's hair lightly. "Was the salad too warm? I noticed that you didn't seem to like it very much …" she trailed off, waiting for Bella's response.

"Um, well, I was just getting full, that's all." She blinked and started chewing her lips in anxiety. She was forced to look at Esme suddenly. A few seconds later, her brain caught up with Esme's vampire speed; Esme had moved her hand from Bella's hair to her chin and pulled Bella around to look at her so quickly that she hadn't realized the movement until it was completed. She also blushed when she realized that the others had overheard and immediately stopped conversing to watch their exchange. When she was able to think again, she saw that Esme had one eyebrow raised and that a slight frown rested on her beautiful face.

"Bella, you're so very sweet, but please, don't try to lie," she admonished, then sighed softly and moved her hand back to stroke Bella's hair gently. "I am vampire. It means that even though I can cook well, I can't know for certain if the recipe is correct. Our tongues do not register taste the same way that humans' do …" She paused for a moment, seeming to focus on stroking Bella's hair, and then continued, "I love that you're so considerate of my feelings, but I want honesty, okay?"

Bella bit her lips again, then nodded in resignation and understanding. She really hadn't considered it from Esme's point of view. It must be even harder than she thought for a vampire to cook food for a human. "Well … it wasn't, um, the recipe, I don't think, Esme. The fruit salad was actually pretty good." She thought for a minute, trying to find the right words to explain it; she still didn't want to hurt Esme's feelings. "When I ate the oranges, they, ah, didn't sit very well … in my stomach, I mean. Same with the apples and the peaches." She looked up hesitantly, hoping that her words had been gentle enough.

Esme's eyes lit up in understanding, and she reached across the table to get the bowl of fruit. As she brought it to herself, she chose an apple slice and frowned at it. Bella was a bit confused, but quickly realized that Esme was using her superior eyesight to try to detect anything off about the apple. She watched as Esme shook her head slightly and shifted the apple to right beneath her nose. She inhaled deeply, concentrating heavily on the scent. Bella tilted her head as a small grin escaped her control; it was so interesting, for her, to watch vampires utilize their heightened senses.

As kind as the Cullens were to Bella, they also didn't let Bella see as much of their world as she wanted to, and this small display was very intriguing. It also told her that they were starting to trust her more and starting to believe that she would never run away from them in terror. It continually stymied Bella that anyone from this vampire coven would ever even think that she would be afraid of them. She was terrified of other vampires, yes, most especially the red-eyed vampires who preyed on humans rather than animals, unlike the golden-eyed Cullens. But the Cullens? Bella would never be frightened of them. They were far too kind, loving, and good to ever be scary. When they weren't trying to rip apart a vampire that was trying to kill her, anyway.

Esme had finished her inspection of the apple slice and put it back into the bowl. She frowned and looked to the others at the table. She noticed that Emmett and his mate Rosalie had appeared in the dining room, having apparently overheard Carlisle's plans for this evening. She beamed at them in acknowledgment, and then frowned again. "There seems to be nothing wrong with the apples. I don't know why they would make our Bella ill."

Alice frowned at the bowl in Esme's hands and put one hand on her chin, tapping her index finger as she thought. She was concerned. She really didn't want Bella to be ill tonight, and not any other day, for that matter. Alice loved Bella, to such a degree that she had severe trouble keeping it contained to the level of their present-day relationship status. Her gift for seeing the future often made Alice's life easier. It also made it harder because she so often formed feelings for people based on events that she had seen, but hadn't happened yet.

Through her visions, she had seen Bella as her future sister, had felt the incredibly strong bond between them. This drove Alice to try to include Bella in their life as much as possible, but also to be careful, for the last thing she wanted was to alienate Bella from her family of vampires. She also constantly searched the future, trying to avert events that would harm Bella. This, however, she hadn't foreseen. Her frown deepened as she wondered why this incident hadn't been shown to her. She knew that her visions had holes; they came only when events would happen that concerned her or her family, and often only came after a decision had been made.

She was fortunate in that even the smallest decision would trigger a vision, allowing her to see the path before them all even when no apparent decision had taken place. Alice should have been able to see Bella becoming ill as soon as she decided to eat, or even earlier, when Esme decided to purchase the fruits in the first place. This lack of futuristic information was very worrying to her.

Her gaze danced over the apples, the oranges, the peaches, and the other fruits in the bowl. They weren't separate; they were tossed together, sitting in a mixture of delightful colors. A thought occurred to her, and it wasn't more than a second later that the words flew out of her mouth. "Maybe it wasn't the apples, exactly. Maybe the one Bella ate was tainted by something else in the bowl. May I, Esme?"

Esme nodded and gently moved the bowl beneath Alice's outstretched hand. She delicately chose an orange and copied Esme's earlier actions. While she sniffed the orange carefully, she watched as Edward reached for the bowl in Esme's hands and took a peach slice. She closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed deeply and sadly placed the orange back into the bowl. "I'm sorry, Bella, Esme. There's nothing wrong with the oranges, either. Edward?"

Edward was intent on using all of his senses to the most powerful extremes possible to detect the slightest sign of taint. His love for Bella went deeper than the deepest reaches of the universe, and he flat-out refused to allow any harm, any danger to his beautiful mate. Oh, he had issues with Bella being human, being with the Cullens, and so many other things, yes, but he did not have any issues at all with calling Bella his mate. She was, indeed, that, and so much more to him. It was the consequences of that which his heart and mind struggled with so tortuously.

He gave a frustrated sigh as he threw the peach back into the bowl with unnecessary force, nearly smashing it to an unidentifiable pulp in the process. He raised his golden eyes, now tinged with some of the black iris of a frustrated vampire, to Alice and almost snarled, "No, I don't detect anything untoward in there, either."

He sighed again and ran one hand over his face as he listened to the minds of his family. As a telepath, he could read the thoughts of anyone, human, vampire, or otherwise. The one exception to his power was, ironically, his own mate—Bella. Her gift of blocking his power was strong, and its source was still a mystery. He knew only that her gift was latent; as a human, she could not control it, and the name of her gift would most likely never be discovered. Of course, if she was ever bitten and became vampire, the precise nature of her power would become known. Which would never happen, because Edward was never going to allow Bella to become a monstrous, bloodthirsty creature such as himself!

He turned his mental attention to Esme for the moment. He gave a mental soft sigh as he heard Esme's thoughts; she was both relieved and worried. Relieved that it was not something that she could have prevented by being more careful; she did love Bella so, and could barely even bear to think of any harm coming to her. She was also worried, because they had not yet solved the mystery and she wanted—no, needed—to know what had gone wrong.

His eyes moved from Esme to Alice and he tuned into her bright (and usually more informative than even he would wish) mind. Her mind contemplated hundreds of possibilities and also wildly raced down the many paths of tomorrow. He heard her fears, knew of the strong bond Alice felt for Bella, and heard her frustration as the future failed to present her with the solutions. He thought to turn his attention to Alice's tall and blonde mate, Jasper, but when he did, he saw that thoughts of Bella's strange ailment did not fly through his mind. Instead, the vampire empath was too busy as he concentrated on the emotional atmosphere and threw his power far and wide, settling Alice and Esme's fear, reassuring Bella, and easing Edward's frustration.

Edward's mind moved to search the vast knowledge and thoughts that resided inside Carlisle's mind, as he wondered why Jasper was not assisting Carlisle. A moment later, he saw why; although Carlisle was concerned about Bella, he had his own emotions under control. Not an unusual feat, truly, for a three-hundred-year-old vampire. The thoughts that flew through Carlisle's mind consisted of many theories; the man was discarding theories right and left as he received and contemplated the information that the others were providing. Finally, he settled on a likely possibility and turned to speak to Bella. Edward knew his intent and immediately turned to observe Bella.

Carlisle took a breath that was entirely unnecessary and yet a habit and softly inquired, "Bella, I think that it may not necessarily have been tainted fruit. I do not mean to intrude, but have you been feeling ill of late? A slight fever, perhaps?" He watched carefully as Bella blinked and frowned in thought as she let her gaze fall to the empty plate. He was rather relieved; this most likely meant that Bella accepted his questioning as being that of a doctor who was concerned for his son's mate. She would think deeply and answer him honestly. He was pleased that she was so successfully blending herself into his family—not merely as a friend, but as a family member… as Edward's mate. Although he would concede that perhaps Bella wasn't quite aware of exactly what mate meant to vampires. He would have to rectify that at a later time.

His attention flickered to Edward as the vampire frowned and shook his head so minutely that only another vampire would have caught the motion. Edward had caught the thought and disagreed with it vehemently. Carlisle kept his façade calm and concerned, but his thoughts were disapproving; he knew that the hundred-year-old mind reader would also catch the flavor of his thoughts. _Edward, even you must admit that Bella has the right to know what being a vampire's mate entails. It would be easier also for Bella to know how important you are to her; you know she has some misgivings on that issue._

He sighed as Edward shook his head again and turned his attention back to Bella. That meant that Edward wouldn't carry on the conversation. He sent one last thought at Edward's mind: _We will discuss this later, my son. At the moment, we have greater concerns to address._ He was distracted as Bella slowly raised her head and looked at him thoughtfully.

Bella was nervous about what she was about to reveal to Carlisle. Not so much because of Carlisle—she did trust him, as a friend and a doctor—but because of Edward, who tended to be rather overprotective. She knew Edward well enough to know how he would react: He would skip the comet-watching party and spend the evening in Bella's room as she slept. She didn't want that; she wanted him to go and enjoy the outing with his family. He didn't get too much "family time" as it was, and Bella felt somewhat guilty about that, knowing that she was the reason.

She chose her words carefully; she wanted to be truthful, but too much information would have sent Edward into a tailspin. "Um, well, I haven't had a fever or anything like that … exactly. I mean … I wasn't feeling nauseous until I ate the fruit, and even that's gone now. The only thing that's been a little weird lately is, well, I've been feeling a little bit colder. Not just when I'm with—" she stopped and blushed instantly as she hastily yanked her gaze down to the plate. She hadn't meant to say that part; it had just slipped out.

She heard Carlisle's gentle reply. "I can see why being with Edward would make you cooler, Bella. Please continue." She looked up slowly and examined his expression. He was still calm, but there was just a touch of comfort, humor, and gentle warmth in his golden eyes. He understood. Bella smiled softly and murmured, "Well, it's all the time, lately. Um, about two days now, I think. That's it, really."

Carlisle nodded and stretched his arm across the table to put his hand gently over Bella's left hand. He waited for a moment, and then told her, "I do sense that your body temperature is a few points lower. I believe it would be about 98.3 degrees right now. For humans, even the slightest change in core temperature will induce a noticeable change in the owner's sense of temperature. I believe that you may have a minor stomach virus, Bella. Most fruits bear some acidity and can trigger unpleasant sensations in those who are infected with stomach viruses. I would recommend you eat more protein, take a multivitamin for a couple weeks, and avoid fruits for at least a week. You should be able to eat bananas, however."

He turned briskly to Esme and continued, "This won't impact our plans this evening very much, dear, if we bring some hot food and plenty of warm blankets for Bella." A grin broke out on his face as he heard Esme's enthusiastic reply.

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem, Carlisle. I'll prepare some snacks." She turned quickly toward the kitchen and sang over her shoulder as she went, "Emmett, would you be a dear and fetch the blankets from the storage closet?" She was gone before the tall and burly man could answer in the affirmative.

Emmett laughed and kissed the golden-haired vampire standing next to him, and then sprinted away, leaving behind words on the sudden wind: "I'll be right back, Bella." He heard Rosalie's frustrated sigh and Bella's surprised intake of breath behind him.

The dark-haired man was true to his word; he returned approximately two minutes later with a pile of eight fluffy blankets in a wide range of colors. He chuckled at Bella's upraised eyebrow and inquired teasingly, "Will this be enough for tonight, little sister? After all, you're going to be cuddling against Edward in the meadow, and as we all know, he's very cold!"

Emmett loved showing off, and now that Bella was aware of the speed and strength of vampires, he absolutely loved to show off in front of her. He loved to try to shock her a little—merely shock, never frighten. He wasn't as bonded to her as the others were, but the bond he did share with her was strong enough that he only wished to tease and play with her. It was his role in the family to be the mischievous one, the one that pulled pranks and broke the tension with laughter. He considered Bella as part of his family, and now he used it not only to amuse himself, but also for a more serious purpose.

He felt that it was his responsibility to teach Bella about the fun side of being vampire, being part of their family, whether she was human or not. He knew that he could use his skills to help Bella become acclimated to the vampire world without frightening her too much, and he used it at every turn possible. Edward, of course, didn't agree with his methods, but could not argue with the results thus far; Bella seemed to adjust remarkably well and hadn't been frightened of anything the man had done so far. Although, he contemplated as he took in her expression, something seemed to be confusing her.

Bella wore an expression of total surprise. Her mind hadn't finished processing Carlisle's statements when Emmett's assumption that she would be going to the meadow with them hit her. To say that she was confused would have been putting it mildly. Oh, certainly, Carlisle's stomach virus theory made a lot of sense; she'd been surprised that she hadn't thought of that herself. It was what he said after the theory was given. Hot food and warm blankets—that sounded like he was expecting her to comet-watch with the rest of the Cullens. Actually, it sounded as if the entire family was expecting her to go with them, but that didn't make sense to Bella.

Why would they want her to intrude on their private family time? She was a human, after all, and one that they'd had to defend from their own kind just a few weeks ago. Surely, they had reconsidered her place with them? Edward had already tried to leave her while she was in the hospital recovering from the attack. As if she would really have gone so willingly to Florida, leaving Edward behind in Forks—absolutely ridiculous! Still, he had made the attempt. That one had failed, but she was sure he would make more attempts; he worried too much about her "safety" for his own good. She watched him constantly, waiting for him to make a new argument that she was better off without him.

It put her on edge, but there was little she could do, for now. She'd thought that the rest of the Cullens had made the same conclusion that Edward had; she'd been prepared for them to push her out of their world instead of pulling her further in. It was unexpected, to say the least.

"The … meadow?" She drew in her eyebrows even more and turned to Alice for some clarification.

Alice heard the uncertainty in Bella's voice and rushed to reassure her, "Yes, of course, the meadow. You are coming to see the comet with us, right?" A thought flew through her mind, and her expression fell. "Unless you don't want to?" She looked hopefully at Bella, her hand having flown across the short distance to rest upon the beautiful human's hand. Alice tightened her hand just enough that she knew Bella would perceive it as tight but not uncomfortable.

"Oh, no, no. I mean, yes." Bella dropped her gaze to the dining table and brushed her hair behind her ear nervously, "I mean … I'd like to go with you. I just thought it was a … family thing."

Alice chuckled in relief. "Oh, Bella. It is a 'family thing.'" She took her other hand and ran it through Bella's hair gently. "You are a part of our family." When she saw that Bella had looked up at her words and was starting to smile, she grinned and moved her body closer to Bella's and enfolded her in a hug that was cold but also warm, in the way that counted most.

As she withdrew, she saw Bella's eyes form a question. Before Bella could even ask the question, a vision gripped her. Pictures flashed by her eyes, creating a story that only Alice could understand. It only took a minute, and once it was over, Alice returned to the present. Her gaze, now filled with mirth, fell once more on Bella. "Ah, don't worry, Bella. I'll take care of your father."

Bella stared for a moment, and then laughed heartily. She nodded in assent and looked around at everyone again. Alice sat with her arms crossed and a happy expression, and Carlisle leaned back in his chair and gazed at her with a reassuring smile. When her eyes fell on Edward, he reached for her. She gave a half-smile and leaned into him. She looked over his shoulder as she made herself more comfortable in his arms, and saw Emmett and Rosalie. Emmett grinned madly and was putting the pile of blankets on the unoccupied end of the dining table. Rosalie stood near the kitchen and looked resigned.

Rosalie was the one vampire from Carlisle's family that had a problem with her. Rosalie met her eyes briefly, then flipped her hair over her perfect shoulders and strode out of the room. Bella sighed softly while her gaze flew across the now-empty space and landed on Esme. She was standing in the kitchen, snacks already heated and packed in a small picnic basket. Bella grinned as she contemplated how fast Esme must have moved to finish all that so quickly. She glanced from the basket to Esme's face and saw the expression that graced Esme's face. Esme beamed at her, eyes shining with warmth and love.

Something about Esme's expression triggered a memory that tickled at the edge of Bella's mind. She couldn't quite grasp the memory; it danced out of her reach. Regardless, it didn't matter right now. She was with her family, and they were planning to spend an evening together in a beautiful meadow, watching a comet fly through the skies. Bella felt only contentment and love, and she would hang onto it for as long as possible. She returned her attention to Edward and snuggled further into his cold arms. Arms that were slightly less cold than they used to be.


End file.
